bowlbys theory

• Bowlby's Monotropic Attachment Theory

  - Bowlby critiqued learning theory, arguing that if it were accurate, infants would attach to anyone who feeds them.

  - he proposed an evolutionary approach, suggesting attachment is an innate mechanism inherited through generations.

  - this innate system ensures infants stay close to their caregivers, enhancing their survival by providing safety and security.
• What is monotropy? (Bowlby)

  - Monotropic suggests a child's attachment has a greater emphasis on a single person, hence the 'mono'. It is typically the 'mother' but is not necessarily biological mother or a female.
• What are the two principles Bowlby used to put forward the idea of monotropy and explain primary attachment?

  - Law of Continuity

  - Law of Accumulated Seperation
• What is the 'Law of Continuity'?

  - The more constant and predictable a child's care (the child knows how the parent will respond), the better the quality of their attachment.
• What is the Law of Accumulated Separation?

  - The idea that the effects of every separation from the mother add up 'and the safest dose is therefore a zero dose' (Bowlby)
• What are 'social releasers'?

  - babies show innate behaviors (smiling, gripping) called social releasers.

  - social releasers trigger the attachment system, promoting love and attachment from adults.

  - attachment is reciprocal, reflecting the biological predisposition for attachment between babies and mothers.
• What is Bowlby's 'critical period'?

  Sensitive Period for Attachment

  - occurs between 6 months and 2 years old.

  Infant attachment system is highly active during this period

  - if attachment is not formed during this time, it becomes challenging later, potentially leading to lasting emotional challenges.
• What is 'Internal Working Model'?

  - Bowlby suggested that children form a mental view of their relationship with their primary caregiver.

  - It is called the internal working model because it serves as a model of what future relationships will look like.

  - E.g.: a child whose first experience was a loving caregiver will expect future relationships to be the same

  and a child whose first experience was poor treatment, they will expect to form poorer relationships in life.
• validity of monotropy challenged

  P: limitation - Bowlby's theory of monotropy lacks validity

  E: child's first attachment is strong but not different in quality from the child's other attachments

  E: e.g. other attachments to family members provide all the same key qualities

  L: therefore Bowlby's idea of first attachment having unique qualities wrong
• support for social releasers

  P: strength - evidence supports social releasers

  E: researcher instructed babies' primary attachment figures to ignore babies' social releasers

  E: babies became increasingly distressed and some even curled up in a ball and stayed motionless

  L: therefore social releasers important in emotional and attachment development
• support for internal working model

  P: strength - support for internal working model

  E: researcher assessed the attachment relationships of 99 mothers and their one-year-old children

  E: mothers with poor attachements to their own primary caregivers are likely to have poorly attached babies

  L: therefore mothers ability to form attachements to their own babies influenced by internal working model
• counterpoint 


  P: limitation - other important influences on social development

  E: e.g. some psychologists believe genetic differences in anxiety and sociability affect social behaviour in both babies and adults

  E: these differences could also impact on their parenting abilities

  L: therefore Bowlby may have overstated the importance of the internal working model